Love Inspired March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: A Wife for Jacob\The Forest Ranger's Rescue\Alaskan Homecoming (15 page)

“
Gut
morning!” he said with a smile as he entered the kitchen. He became the focus of four pairs of eyes. He stopped abruptly. He was surprised to see Ike King seated next to Annie at the table. His chest tightened. He nodded at Ike.
“Hallo.”

“Jacob.” At least Horseshoe Joe looked pleased to see him. “Are you hungry?”

“
Nay
, but I'll take a glass of water.” He sought Miriam's permission. “May I?”

She smiled. “
Ja
, of course.”

Annie started to rise. “I'll get it.”

Jacob held up his hand to stop her. “I know where everything is.” The conversation resumed behind him as he reached into a kitchen cabinet and withdrew a glass. He filled the tumbler with water from the faucet. When he was done, he turned and leaned back against the cabinet as he lifted the glass to his lips. He took note of the gathering, his attention returning to Annie often.

“This is delicious,” Ike said after he'd taken a bite of a cinnamon bun.

Annie avoided his glance. “That's kind of you to say.”

“Annie is a wonderful cook,” Jacob said pleasantly, trying to draw her attention. “Everything she makes comes out perfectly. You should taste her homemade bread.”

Jacob was amused when her eyes shot daggers at him. “Not only is she a
gut
cook but she is modest about it. She will make some lucky man a fine
wife.” He couldn't help stirring things up a bit. Annie was livid, but Ike appeared pleased. Annie was angry, so she couldn't be indifferent to him.

“I get coffee and breakfast from her whenever I come to work—at least most of the time. Annie doesn't always know whether or not I'm working.”

Ike looked concerned. “That's right. You injured your hand. Is it better?”

Jacob captured Annie's gaze and fought to keep it. “My hand is healing,” he said. He drank the last of the water and then set the glass in the dish basin. “I should get back.” He turned to Annie. “We need to talk later.”

“You'll be coming for lunch?” Joe asked, speaking up after being unusually quiet.

“
Danki
, but
nay
. I'll finish in the shop and then head home.” He crossed the room to the nearest exit. “I'll see you on Sunday if not before. Miriam,
Mam
said to tell you that she'll bring roast beef on Sunday.” This Sunday was visiting day. Friends and family would gather at the Zooks for a meal and conversation. The children—young and old—would play games outside as long as the weather held and didn't suddenly turn cold.

Jacob heard his pulse pounding in his ears as he left the house and continued toward the shop. What if Annie decided to marry Ike King? She certainly looked cozy seated next to him at the kitchen table. He suddenly felt unsure. Annie's anger with him could be just that—anger.

He released a shuddering breath. The memory of her and Ike's shared laughter stung. Seeing them together made his chest tighten and his thoughts churn.

If Ike is the man you want, Annie Zook, then I wish you well.

“Jacob!”
Annie came out of the house and approached him. With heart beating hard, he waited for her.

When he saw the look on her face, he raised an eyebrow.
“Ja?”

She scowled up at him. “What was that about?”

He regarded her with amusement. “What was what about?”

“You know. You were playing matchmaker, telling Ike that I'd make some man a wonderful wife. Why? You know I hate that.”

He saw her eyes fill and his heart gave a lurch, although he knew her tears were of anger, not sadness. “You wanted a man like Ike to wed. I thought I'd help by telling the truth.”

“By trying to sell me with fancy words and too much praise for my cooking?” she challenged.

“Annie—”

“I didn't appreciate it, Jacob. If I'm meant to marry Ike, then it will be God's will and mine. Not
Mam's
and yours!” She turned then and stomped toward the house.

“Annie!” he called out. She froze in her tracks but didn't turn around. “'Tis
not
my will that you marry Ike,” he told her.

She turned and stared at him. “What
do
you want, Jacob?” The memory of their shared kiss hung in the air between them. When he didn't immediately answer, Annie sighed. “I should get back.”

Watching her leave, he felt an overwhelming surge of love. She was always beautiful to him, but she never looked more so than with fire in her blue eyes and her hands planted firmly on her hips. He wanted to follow her, take her into his arms and kiss her until she was breathless.

“Annie!” he called as she climbed the porch steps, but she didn't stop. She disappeared inside, leaving him yearning for her company and her love, and regretting that he'd kissed her, then stayed away.

Jacob returned to the shop and went to work, but he had trouble concentrating. After dropping the hot piece of metal three times, he set the unfinished object on the worktable and put away his tools. Then he left the shop and Horseshoe Joe's farm. He needed to think, to put distance between him and Annie Zook—and quickly.

Chapter Fifteen

“A
nnie, did you wash the kitchen curtains?”
Mam
asked the following Friday.

“
Ja, Mam.
And hung them on the line.” Annie smiled. “And I dusted all of the furniture, and Barbara did the floors,” she said, anticipating her mother's next question. Her mother and sister and she were preparing for this visiting Sunday's company.

Annie could tell that her mother was running a list of chores through her mind. She approached, put a hand on her shoulder. “
Mam
, what's wrong? You know that we're always more than ready whenever we host visiting Sunday. It's not as if our entire church community will be visiting. Only some of our closest friends and neighbors.”

Mam
sighed and rubbed a hand across her eyes. She appeared worried as she met Annie's gaze. “I'm concerned about your
grossmudder
. She hasn't been herself again lately. Earlier this morning, she fell.”

Annie became alarmed. “Did she hurt herself?”

“She's bruised and sore. I fear she is failing again.”
Mam
captured Annie's hand with her own. “I think she needs to see a doctor.”

An
Englisher
, Annie thought. After her father's accident, her mother would be as worried about the expense of the doctor's visit as she was concerned about
Grossmudder's
health.

“Things will be fine,” she told her mother. “The Lord will watch over
Grossmudder
and all of us.”

Mam's
expression softened. “Annie, you are a joy to me,” she said. “All of you
kinner
are.” She squeezed Annie's hand and then released it. “But you have been the strength in this family since your
vadder's
accident. I shudder to think what might have happened if not for your quick thinking after he fell.”

Annie waved away the praise. “I ran for help. It was Jacob Lapp who got
Dat
the help he needed.”
Jacob.
She hadn't seen him since he'd come into the house when Ike King had stopped by to return her mother's soup bowl. Had he worked in the shop yesterday?

Did she care? In truth, she was still angry with him. He had embarrassed her in front of Ike, much as her mother had done with Joseph, Levi and Reuben. And he'd kissed her simply because she was there and available. That's what hurt the most. That he could so easily play with her emotions and then dismiss her.

Anger is a sin.
She said a silent prayer, asking for the Lord's forgiveness, seeking His guidance with Jacob.

Her thoughts turned to Barbara and Levi. She and Barbara had encountered Levi in town when they'd run an errand for
Mam
. She had made all of the purchases while her sister and Levi had spent a few precious moments together. Recalling her sister's expression during the ride home, Annie grinned.

Her mother, she realized, was studying her carefully. “Why are you grinning?”

“Barbara and I saw Levi Stoltzfus in the store yesterday. I'm remembering how happy Barbara looked on the way home.”

Mam
looked pleased. “Levi is
gut
for your sister.”

Annie nodded.
And me? Who is the man for me?
“About
Grossmudder
, I think we should bring her here.”

“She'll want to clean
haus
with us,”
Mam
warned as she rubbed her temple.

“The
haus
is clean,” she reminded her. “She can arrange the desserts on plates for us.”

Her mother smiled. “That's a wonderful
idea.” She paused. “Annie—”
Mam
added as Annie opened the back screen door.

She halted and faced her.
“Ja, Mam?”

“Jacob Lapp is a
fine, young
man,” her mother said, surprising her.

“He's been
kind
to all of us.”

“And you especially,” she said softly.

Annie felt a flash of heat. “He's just a friend.”

“
Ja.
A friend.” Her brow furrowed as
Mam
looked contemplative.

Annie sensed her concern. “
Ja
, he is.”
Was
, she thought. And she was foolish enough to want him to be more. She released a breath. “Ike King will be coming tomorrow. He, too, is a
gut
man.”

“It was kind of him to return my soup bowl before Sunday,”
Mam
said.

“Ja,”
Annie agreed as she continued on. “I'll be right back with
Grossmudder
.”

As she walked the distance between the main farmhouse and the
dawdi haus
, Annie thought of Jacob Lapp. Her mother suspected that there might be something more than friendship between her and Jacob. How wrong could she be? Jacob had been right when he'd told her that her mother wouldn't approve of him as anything more than her friend.
Mam
saw Jacob only as a man without the financial means to support a wife and family.

Annie swallowed hard. He had asked if she trusted him. She had trusted him, but no more. He had played with her affections and then...nothing.

If only things were different...
She released a small sob as she reached the
grosseldre's
house. Annie paused on the front steps to wipe her eyes. After several deep breaths, she stood up straight, then knocked on her
grossmudder's
door.

* * *

“Annie says she likes Ike, but I'm beginning to think she prefers Jacob.” Miriam Zook looked worried as she confided in her husband.

Horseshoe Joe shrugged. “What's wrong with Jacob?” He rose from his chair and noted that his previously injured leg felt stronger. “Jake is a
hard-working, young
man who loves our daughter, and Ike— Well, he is a kind man, but he is too old for Annie.”

“But she wants an older husband.” His wife reached out to steady him.

Joe shook his head. “I need to learn to get around on my own, Miriam.” When his wife nodded and stepped back as if stung, Joe softened his expression and his tone. “'Tis not that I don't need you, but I need to do this by myself.” He gazed at her lovingly. There was no one else in the house at the moment, a rare thing when parents had teenage and older children who lived with them.

Miriam smiled and walked with him as he hobbled to the kitchen.

“Does Annie really want an older man? Or does she want young Jacob?” Joe asked as they entered the room. “She can't want both.”

“She needs someone who can take care of her.” She put the coffeepot on the stove to heat. “Jacob cannot provide for her.”

Joe lowered himself gingerly into a kitchen chair and watched her work. “You underestimate him, Miriam. He is a Lapp, after all.”

She set out two cups and waited by the table for the coffee to percolate. “Ike has a
haus
and farmland, and he needs a wife and a family. Annie would be
gut
for him,” she insisted.

Joe grabbed her arm as she moved toward the counter. “But will Ike be
gut
for Annie? Would she truly be happy as his wife?” He released her and she stared at him. “She doesn't look at Ike the way you gaze at me, dearest.”

She scowled, although she seemed pleased by his endearment. “She will learn to love him.” She reached for the sugar and then fetched the cream from the refrigerator.

“And that is what you want for her? Someone she must
learn
to love?” He sighed. “Annie is afraid to love. Whether or not the man is older makes no difference. If she loves again, she will be hurt if things don't work out as they should.”

“What would you have me do?” she asked.

“Allow things to take their natural course. If Annie is meant to be with Ike, then so shall she be. If she wants Jacob, then let God's will be done.”

As his wife poured his coffee, Joe hoped that Miriam would stop interfering in his middle daughter's love life. Jacob had become a fine man, and Joe loved him as one of his own. He'd cautioned his wife about playing matchmaker to any of their children, but that didn't mean he couldn't ask the Lord for a little help. Jacob and Annie had barely spoken to each other. That had to change soon.

While he drank his coffee and enjoyed time alone with his wife, Joe pushed an idea to the back of his mind. Later, after supper, Joe stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. Soon, the winter weather would set in, and they would be locked inside the warmth of the house except for those times when farm chores drove them into the bitter cold.

November was the month of weddings. He would enjoy seeing Annie happily wed, but to only one man.
Jacob Lapp.

His leg pained him, a sure sign that it was going to rain or that a full moon was imminent. Joe moved from the porch railing and limped over to sit on a rocker.
Weather is about to change
,
he thought.

“Lord, what do You think?” he said. “Could You help me make two young people happy?”

Joe knew with certainty that Jacob Lapp was in love with Annie, despite the fact that Jacob had gone out of his way to avoid her in recent days. And somehow he knew that Annie loved Jake, despite her willingness to spend time with Ike King.

When it came down to it, if Ike proposed, would Annie accept and follow through?

Joe put it all in God's hands.

* * *

On Sunday morning, Annie came out of the house as the first visitors arrived. She smiled at her father, who sat on a porch rocker watching as a buggy pulled into the yard. “'Tis a lovely day,” she said.

“
Ja.
Hope the weather holds out. Hard to tell with the way this leg is hurting me.”

Annie frowned. “Do you need a pain pill?”

“You know I don't like to take pills. I had to after the surgery, but this—” He rubbed along the area of the repaired bone. “I can deal with this ache. Might have to learn to live with it. Only the Lord knows if it will fade in time.”

“Dat,”
Annie said with concern, “it will get better, I'm sure of it.”

Joe regarded her with affection as he reached over to pet Millie, who rested near his chair. “If you're sure of it, then I believe.” He jerked his head in the direction of the Hershbergers—Annie's aunt and cousins—who had left their buggy and were approaching the house. “You'd best put Millie upstairs,” he said, and Annie hurried to obey, returning in time to greet her aunt and cousins.

Her Aunt Alta was a
gut
soul, but at times, she could be trying, Annie thought. She didn't always think before she spoke and when that happened, someone's feelings were often unintentionally hurt.

“Alta,”
Dat
greeted as Annie waved her cousins inside. Neither daughter was wed or being courted. Annie wondered with amusement if the men who liked her cousins feared having Alta as a mother-in-law. “
Mam
has tea and coffee ready. Would you like a cup?”

“I'll have coffee,” Mary said.

“Make that two,” Sally replied.

Annie looked at her cousins and thought how much they resembled their mother, as Alta might have been when, as a young girl, she'd fallen in love with
Mam's
brother John. From what her
grossmudder
told her, Alta's love for John had made her breathtakingly lovely in her joy. But after John died tragically at the young age of twenty-eight, Alta had been devastated. She had gone into mourning, from which she nearly hadn't emerged. It was only the fact that her two fatherless daughters had desperately needed her that Alta had pulled herself from the depths of despair and gone on to care for them with love and affection. The loss of her husband had stolen something vital in Alta's life. She had not remarried and had become a busybody, eager to gossip about neighbors and friends. The nattering wasn't malicious, not intentionally, Annie thought, but everyone knew not to tell Alta anything in confidence.

Annie smiled inwardly as she gave coffee to each of her cousins.
On the other hand, if
there was news that someone was eager to share, Alta was the one to tell, for then everyone in Happiness would know within forty-eight hours.

“Do you know who's coming today?” Mary asked. She sipped from her coffee as she waited for Annie's reply.

“The Kings, the Lapps and the Bylers,” Annie began. “
Ach
, and the Masts and the Troyers.” Annie tried to think of who else had promised to visit, but couldn't recall.

“Will the preacher come?” Sally asked.

“Ja.”
Of that, Annie had no doubt, especially when she thought of the last time she'd seen Barbara and Levi Stoltzfus together. She didn't believe that Levi would pass up an opportunity to spend time with her sister.

“Why don't we go outside while the weather is still warm?” Annie suggested.

After agreeing, Sally and Mary took their coffee and followed Annie out onto the covered front porch. A large family buggy had parked next to the Hershbergers, and Abram and Charlotte Peachy along with their children stepped out.

“Ach, ja!”
Annie exclaimed. “And the Abram Peachys.”

Sally grinned. “Obviously.”

Another gray buggy pulled up in the yard. “Isn't that Ike King?” Mary said.

Annie nodded when the kind man took notice of her and waved. “Excuse me, cousins,” she said, forcing herself to greet him with a smile. “
Hallo
, Ike.”

* * *

Samuel Lapp drove his family buggy down the dirt lane toward the Joseph Zook farmhouse. “Do we have everyone?”

“A little late to ask, don't ya think,
Dat
?” Eli sounded amused. “We're already here.”

As his mother and siblings chuckled, Jacob exchanged smiles with his twin brother. His amusement promptly faded as he recalled seeing Annie with Ike King, laughing and talking in Miriam's kitchen the other day. Seeing Ike sitting so comfortably at the table had made him realize that Annie might have found her match.